Highest house sales since 2008
Scotland has seen the highest January sales since 2008, up 24 per cent year-on-year.
The average Scottish house prices advance 0.8 per cent in January to £ 171k, up from 0.3 per cent the previous month and the strongest surge is in Stirling where property values in the area have jumped 13.5 per cent over the past year.
Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, said: “The Scottish housing market made a bracing start to the year with the highest January sales since 2008.
“Property transactions in Scotland are up 24 per cent yearon-year, easily outpacing sales south of the border, as England and Wales only saw a one per cent rise over the same time period.
“The surge in Scottish home purchases has been propelled by second- home and buy- tolet buyers eager to avoid paying the three per cent Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) surcharge.
“As this tax hike was only announced in December’s Scottish Budget, January’s surge in sales may only be the tip of the iceberg.
“In Midlothian, property sales have outperformed every other area, shooting up 38 per cent over the three months November 2015 to January 2016 compared to the same three months a year ago.
“This growth has been aided by the lower rate of LBTT on the purchase of cheaper properties, with flat and terraced house sales accounting for the largest rise.
“This trend can also be seen in Glasgow, which narrowly beat Edinburgh to become the area with the highest absolute increase in sales.”
The only areas in Scotland